


In Skin that Doesn't Fit

by thatbigsinner



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: M/M, Post-Canon, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:14:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28370712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatbigsinner/pseuds/thatbigsinner
Summary: After all of his adventures, Cloud Strife, Gaia's Champion, is sent back in time to prevent the tragic events he remembers. There's one problem, though: to be sent back into his younger self's body, that body needs to be emptied out. Gaia swaps the two versions of Cloud, sending his younger self into his future self's body. This is the story of the soul of nine-year-old Cloud Strife, and how he adjusts to life in the future.
Relationships: Genesis Rhapsodos/Cloud Strife
Comments: 5
Kudos: 50





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The use of the underage tag is a little wonky in this. Genesis and Cloud, before adult Cloud was sent back, were dating. Any future explicit scenes will be between younger Cloud and Genesis. Is the body he's in underage? No. But mentally, he's nine, so I'm tagging it to be safe. If that's going to bother you, this is your warning, please take any precautions you need to!

Cloud remembered being tucked into bed by his mother, who had kissed his forehead and smoothed the hair away from his face on her way out. 

He remembered the strange dream he had too, but it was a little fuzzier. He’d been standing in a valley, with tall mountains on either side, but the valley was filled with a meadow. The flowers were all yellow and white, a kind he hadn’t seen before, and a stream passed through the meadow on his left. A woman’s voice rang through the valley, though he couldn’t pinpoint where it came from, only that it echoed.

_ “I apologize to you, little one. You are a casualty. I must send my Champion back, but there are some laws even I cannot bend. He needs a body to be in, and yours is the only one that will work.” _

“You’re… taking me out of my body?” Cloud said, his throat going tight with fear. “Am I gonna die? Like Papa?”

_ “No, child. You will be spared. He needs your body, but he leaves his own behind in the process. I will tuck you there, safe and sound. There will be time, still, before the Calamity’s son returns. Who knows, perhaps you will have more luck with him than my Champion has had.” _

“I don’t… I don’t get what any of that means.”

_ “It means you won’t die. You will go somewhere else, which is safe for the moment. You will be with people who love you. Do not be afraid.” _

Cloud realized then that terrified tears were dripping down his face. He sniffled, and dashed them with his palm.

“I’m not afraid! I can do it!”

There was a warm laugh that drifted along the breeze.

_ “Always the same, no matter the age, no matter the world. Very well. Good luck.” _

The dream faded to black, and then he was opening his eyes, and what he saw distracted him so much it wiped the dream clear from his head.

He was in bed, but not the bed he remembered falling asleep in. There was a strange man sleeping in the bed with him that he didn’t recognize. He had long red hair and the kind of soft features that made Cloud wonder if the kids in Nibelheim had bullied him, too, when he was Cloud’s age. He had one arm curled around Cloud’s waist, which was odd, but his mother held him close when they had to share a bed during the winter months to keep warm, so maybe it wasn’t  _ that _ strange. Except it didn’t seem that cold out, and this was certainly not his mother. 

Maybe his mother had needed to leave the village? Did she drop him off with someone, and there weren’t enough beds for him to have his own, or maybe it  _ was _ winter, and he just didn’t feel cold because he was cuddled up with this man?

But that would be odd too, because Cloud knew everyone in Nibelheim (even if sometimes he wished he didn’t) and he didn’t know this man. He was sure he’d remember someone like this. None of the men in the village had the kind of soft features they both had. None of them had long hair like this, either. They  _ definitely _ didn’t have their ear pierced. No, Cloud was sure that if this man was in Nibelheim, he would have noticed him by now.

“Hey,” Cloud whispered, reaching out to shake the man’s shoulder. “Hey, wake up.”

The man frowned and turned his face into the pillow.

“Cloud,” he said, voice heavily muffled, “Stop trying to drag me into your absurd wake-up times. 0900 and no earlier, you know that.”

Cloud blinked at him. The man hadn’t even opened his eyes. How did he know it was him? Did he expect him to be here? What did he mean, about wake up times?

“Uhm,” Cloud muttered, his hand turning hesitant on the man’s shoulder. “I don’t—can you tell me where I am?”

At this, the man shifted so he could peer up at Cloud with one eye, his brow furrowing. 

“You’re home, Cloud. Do you feel alright?”

“I… feel fine, I just—this isn’t home? Where’s Mama?”

At this, the man seemed to come fully awake, propping himself up on one elbow to look at Cloud with concern.

“Your mother?”

“Yeah, where is she? Did she leave me with you? Did she have to go somewhere?”

Genesis reached out, feeling Cloud’s forehead with the back of his hand. Cloud frowned, knowing the gesture, and batted the hand away. He wouldn’t admit to it, but his heart was starting to race. This man didn’t seem to know what was happening either.

“I’m not sick,” Cloud insisted. “I just wanna know where my Mama is.”

“Let me… go make a call, alright? We’ll get this sorted out.”

The man got out of bed, tossing his long hair over his shoulder to drape down his back. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, which Cloud found odd (it really must not be winter, he wondered why they were sharing a bed), just low-slung pajama pants. He grabbed a little device of some sort off the nightstand and wandered out of the room on silent feet.

Cloud sat up in bed, scratching his head in confusion. He was wearing a shirt (which made much more sense than sleeping without one, what was that man thinking?) that was plain white, and blue-and-green plaid flannel pants. He rubbed one hand over the sheets, finding them much softer than the ones he and his mother had. 

He looked to the nightstand on his side of the bed and found a book propped open with a coffee mug. His mother wouldn’t let him drink coffee yet; she said he wasn’t old enough. The book had a picture of something mechanical looking, and really small font for the text. He tried reading a line, but he had always struggled with reading, and dropped out of school a while ago to help at home. There was someone’s scrawl in the margins, taking notes of some sort, but he didn’t have much more luck with that than the neat print. He picked up the nearby pen and drew a little cloud in the margins, which he had taken to doing instead of signing his name, since it was much easier. He set the pen down.

Cloud pulled back the covers and swung his feet out of the bed. He wasn’t sure if he was allowed to wander around. The man made it seem like he’d come back for him when he was done, but, well. Cloud could be impatient sometimes. He usually followed the rules when they were given to him, knowing his mother would send him to his room if he didn’t, but he had gotten good at looking for loopholes. Anything left unsaid was something he could take advantage of, and his mother always let him get away with that. It was something of a game between them, her trying to phrase things just right, him trying to find ways around it. It helped keep them occupied.

Along those lines, the man hadn’t  _ explicitly _ told him to stay in bed. So he climbed out of it and sneaked as best he could to the door. This wasn’t his home, and he didn’t know all the creaky floorboards, but this place seemed much nicer and fancier, and none of them seemed to creak anyway. 

He eased the door open, which was much quieter than his own at home, and snuck into the hallway. He didn’t see the man anywhere, but heard his voice from downstairs. He crept onto the staircase and down just far enough that he could make out what he was saying.

“I don’t know, Tifa, none of it makes sense,” the man was saying, and Cloud perked up. Tifa was here? “He’s asking for his  _ mother _ . Yes, I know that damn well. Do you know how long it took me to get two words out of him about her? He doesn’t just bring her  _ up _ , and even when we’re on the topic, it’s never like  _ this _ . It’s like he’s… forgotten. He doesn’t even know he’s at home—he asked if his mother dropped him off here. 

“No, he hasn’t had any mako exposure. He hasn’t even been into old Midgar, where the mako’s in the air, not in months. It can’t possibly be mako poisoning again.” He sounded frustrated when he continued, “I don’t know  _ how _ to explain it, Tifa, can you just come over? If he’s lost years, and lost enough years that he’s asking about Claudia, then you might be the only person that will make sense to him. Maybe seeing you will snap him out of it.

“ _ Thank you _ , dear. Hurry, please. I’ll make your favorite coffee to make up for waking you so early. I’ll see you soon.”

Cloud took that as his cue to start sneaking back to the bedroom. He heard a deep sigh from downstairs and picked up the pace a little.

“Cloud Strife, were you eavesdropping?”

Busted.

“No!” Cloud said, standing upright and turning to face the man, who had his hands on his hips and a scowl on his lips.

“Liar. That wasn’t even a  _ good _ lie, you’re normally better at it than that,” the man said, looking at him in disgruntled confusion. “Come down here.”

Cloud huffed but came down the stairs, not understanding why the man looked surprised to see him listen. He was an adult, and Cloud wasn’t  _ bad _ —he only bent the rules a little. He only outright ignored adults when they said mean things about his mother.

The man sighed and took Cloud by the hand when he was close enough, spinning and leading him to the kitchen table, where he gently pushed Cloud into a chair. He left to go about fussing with a machine of some sort—maybe making that special coffee for Tifa.

“Do you even know who I am, Cloud?”

“Uhm. No?”

The man turned to look at him for a long moment before sighing again and turning back to his task.

“My name is Genesis Rhapsodos.”

Cloud gasped and clapped both hands to his mouth, his eyes wide. The man—Genesis, apparently, turned to look at him with an eyebrow raised. Cloud lowered his hands just a hair to speak.

“Really?” he said in a tiny voice. “ _ The _ Genesis Rhapsodos? SOLDIER First Class? Like from the radio?”

Genesis blinked, his face going slack in surprise. Then he laughed outright, covering his eyes with his hand and lowering his head.

“Cloud always did say that getting what you wish for never turns out how you expect,” Genesis muttered, and somehow Cloud felt like he wasn’t supposed to hear it. When he spoke again, his voice was louder, and he looked Cloud in the eye. “Yes, Cloud. That Genesis.”

“You lead armies! And I heard you have a real cool sword! And do fancy magic! And you’re friends with  _ Sephiroth _ !”

A slow, disbelieving smile was dawning on Genesis’s face, until the mention of Sephiroth. It slipped right off his face, his face twisting with sorrow.

“What do you know about Sephiroth?”

“He’s amazing!” Cloud said brightly, gripping the edge of his chair and leaning forward in excitement. “He’s a general, and he keeps us all safe from Wutai! He’s got an amazing sword, and he’s the toughest person there is, and he’s my hero! And—and… why do you look like that?”

Because Genesis’s face had slowly been twisting with sorrow, until it devolved into outright heartbreak. Genesis tipped his head back, looking at the ceiling, and when he spoke, it clearly wasn’t to Cloud.

“Minerva, must you always test me?” Then Genesis lowered his head to his chest and sighed again. “Let’s… not talk about Sephiroth.”

“But you asked?”

“And now I’m asking to drop it.”

“But—”

“No buts, Cloud.” He gave Cloud a look that dared him to press it, and Cloud huffed, but didn’t understand that look. Genesis kept acting like he was going to misbehave all the time, and Cloud didn’t get it.

“ _ Fine _ ,” Cloud said, slouching down into his chair. He crossed his arms over his chest. He was clearly sulking, the way he did any time his mother cut him off from talking about Sephiroth too. She never wanted to hear it, disliking Shinra and the SOLDIERs. He had thought Genesis would be more willing, considering he  _ knew _ Sephiroth personally, but he guessed not.

Genesis watched him sulk with a look of helpless frustration. Then he sighed and turned back to making coffee for when Tifa arrived. Cloud huffed but settled in for a good long sulk, certain he could outlast Genesis.

He lost track of how long it had been by the time the door banged open, only that he was starting to get bored of sulking by that point. He looked with interest toward the sound.

“Oh thank the Goddess,” Genesis whispered, grabbing the mug he hadn’t been drinking out of and walking toward the hall that connected the kitchen to the front door.

“Gen?” Tifa called, hurrying down the hall, only to pull to an abrupt stop when she made it to the kitchen and saw Genesis holding out a mug for her.

“Take this, you’ll need it,” Genesis insisted, and Tifa hesitantly took the mug, but turned her eyes toward Cloud. Cloud still hadn’t pulled himself upright, but was now looking at Tifa with wide eyes.

“Tifa?” he asked, finally pulling himself upright in his chair. Tifa smiled hesitantly and walked over to the table.

“Morning, Cloud. How do you feel?”

“Fine. Why do you look so  _ old _ ?”

Tifa spluttered, pulling to a stop. She stared down at him with wide eyes.

“ _ Excuse me? _ ”

“You were my age just yesterday. Why do you look all old now?”

“We’re the same age, Cloud.”

“‘Course not. I’m only nine.”

“Dear Goddess,” Genesis whispered in the background, taking a large drink from his mug.

“ _ Nine? _ Cloud, have you seen yourself lately?”

“Huh? Not this morning, why?”

Tifa set down the coffee cup and manhandled Cloud out of the chair. She pushed him to where she knew the bathroom was and flicked on the lights, making him meet his own reflection in the mirror.

_ He _ was old, old like Tifa. That didn’t make any sense. He was nine! Nine and a half, technically, but not  _ this _ old!

He rubbed his face with both hands, squishing his cheeks.

“But…” And then it hit Cloud, like a blow to the chest. He watched his eyes widen. “Oh, the dream.”

“Dream?” Genesis said, from behind where they stood in the doorway to the bathroom.

“I had a dream. I was in a meadow, in a valley, and some lady was talking to me. She said her champion needed my body, so she was taking me out of it, and was gonna put me in his. Was older me a champion of something?”

Tifa and Genesis exhaled in the same moment. They turned to look at each other. ‘Gaia’s champion’ was one of Cloud’s common titles. 

“You don’t think…?” Tifa started.

“I don’t know what else it could be. The Goddess works miracles, but they’re often strange.”

“So, what, she… sent our Cloud to the past, and sent his past self here? Why?”

“Maybe… maybe to fix things. Our Cloud could do it—stop all this mess from ever starting. He knows what to look for, and what to change. If anyone is stubborn enough to do it in a nine-year-old’s body, it’s him.”

“But why send the nine-year-old version here?”

“Well, what better place to put him? This body would just sit around empty otherwise, and he needs somewhere to be. It’s a neat solution, just…”

“Just?”

“Does this mean our Cloud is gone? For good?”

Tifa took the words like a blow.

“No,” she said with a disbelieving laugh. “No, it can’t be. That’s not fair. Cloud fought  _ so hard _ , and now she’s going to make him do it all over again? She won’t even let him come back to the friends and family he knows? She’s going to take  _ all of that _ away from him?”

“It might be a one-way trip, Tifa. Something she can do in emergencies, to keep herself safe, but not once the problem is solved.”

“But there’s no emergency! Meteor’s gone, Geostigma’s gone, Sephiroth’s gone, what else could there be?”

“Cloud… he always said it wasn’t over. That Sephiroth would come back. That it was just a matter of time.”

“Well, then what the hell are we supposed to do about it now! Did she just give this world up as a lost cause? Cloud’s always been the key to handling Sephiroth, and I’m not sending this  _ nine-year-old _ version out to deal with him!”

“Maybe it won’t work? Cloud said Sephiroth followed their connection to get back. This version doesn’t have a connection with him. Maybe he can’t come back anymore. Maybe this saved both worlds.”

“What if the connection was just the cells they share? He could still come back. Gen, if he shows up again, I don’t know that we’ll be able to stop him.”

“That isn’t a problem for right now, alright? Right now, we deal with the nine-year-old who is looking at us like we just killed his cat.”

Both Tifa and Genesis looked to Cloud, who was staring at them in the mirror with wide, terrified eyes. He sniffled.

“I’m… in the future?” Cloud muttered, his wide eyes tearing. “Did something bad happen? Did Sephiroth do something bad, is that why you’re talking about him like that?”

“Goddess have mercy,” Genesis whispered. “Come along, love, the bathroom is no place to have this conversation.”

Cloud sniffled again but followed them, towed by the hand by Tifa, to the couch. He sat as close to Tifa as he could manage, and was glad when Genesis decided to give them some space. Tifa wrapped an arm around him, holding him close and smoothing his hair back. He laid his head on her shoulder.

“What happened?” Cloud asked, not sure he wanted to know.

“We don’t have to talk about this right now, Cloud,” Tifa said. “We could get you settled first, show you around some?”

“No sense in stalling, Tifa,” Genesis said. “Nothing else will make sense to him unless he knows what happened.”

Genesis said it, but he felt conflicted about it. Because this Cloud, he could already tell, was miles different from the man he knew. He was sweet, and naive, and innocent. He hadn’t been tortured, mentally and physically, he hadn’t watched his village burn and his mother die, he hadn’t been to hell and back. And every fiber of Genesis’s being  _ ached _ to spare Cloud that pain. He could keep his lover  _ safe _ like this, spare him all the heartache and trauma. He wouldn’t be the man he fell in love with, but he could be happy, without all the emotional and physical scarring that had tormented his lover. 

He had always, always wanted to protect Cloud from the world, and now he had a chance to. Was he going to spoil it by telling him what had happened, even if that was what was owed to him?

Maybe there was a middle ground.

“Sephiroth went bad, you see,” Genesis started carefully. “You, and Tifa, and some other friends you made stopped him.  _ You _ stopped him, in the end.”

Cloud clearly looked distraught to hear this, saying, “But Sephiroth would never! He’s a hero!”

“He was. But a very bad lady lied to him, and confused him. He thought he was doing what was best, but he’d been led astray. You only stopped him because you had to.”

“ _ I _ stopped him? How? Was I a SOLDIER too?”

“I… like an honorary SOLDIER. You’re strong like him. When you two fought, you won.”

Cloud sniffled and said, “I don’t want to be a hero, if it means I have to hurt him.”

“You only did it because you had to, Cloud,” Tifa said, smoothing his hair. “You were very brave. You did the right thing.”

“But he might come back, right? That’s what you said?” Cloud said, his voice strangely hopeful. “Maybe I can make it up to him. I’d be nice this time.”

“Ah, Cloud, Sephiroth isn’t  _ nice _ anymore. He’d only hurt you for trying,” Genesis said, his voice tight.

Cloud shook his head, all determination. 

“I’m sure I could make it better!”

Genesis and Tifa looked at each other, sharing a grimace.

“Let’s maybe not talk about Sephiroth anymore,” Genesis tried.

“Well, then where’s my Mama?” Cloud asked, and Tifa sucked in a sharp breath.

“Your mother… passed away. I’m sorry, Cloud.”

Cloud’s eyes grew wide. They welled with tears again.

“No way,” he muttered. “Mama’s tough, and strong, and really smart, she must be okay!”

Tifa pulled him closer, tucking his face into her neck and whispered, “My dad didn’t make it either.”

At this, Cloud broke. He clung to Tifa and let out a heartbreaking wail, the kind of which neither Genesis or Tifa had ever heard him give. He sobbed into her shirt, pressed as tight to her as he could get. This was clearly not the man they knew. The Cloud they knew would sooner face Sephiroth again before crying in front of another human being. But the child wearing his skin had no such compunctions. He wept openly, not thinking twice about whether or not he should, and only sought Tifa’s comfort, which she had been longing to give for years but never before allowed. 

Tifa held him tight to her, and did her best to comfort him. She shushed him, and ran her hand through his hair, or rubbed circles into his back. She tucked him beneath her chin, feeling his tears slowly soak her shirt. She began to hum an old Nibel lullaby, the kind they had both been comforted with as children, and he slowly began to wind down.

“I’m sorry about your dad,” he eventually mumbled, sniffing and wiping at his eyes. He took a tissue when Genesis passed him the box and blew his nose. 

“I’m sorry about your mama,” Tifa responded, and he nodded sullenly. 

“Is there  _ anything _ good about now?” Cloud asked, looking up at her with big, sad eyes.

“You’re—friends, with Genesis now, and he cares about you very much. I don’t live very far away. We have a bunch of friends, who I can have stop by so you can meet them. How does that sound?”

Cloud wrinkled his nose and said, “Are they your friends from home?”

The smile on Tifa’s face stiffened. She, like Genesis, had been thinking of sparing Cloud from as much pain as possible, which was why she hadn’t added anything to his very broad explanation of what had happened. But she had more to atone for, than Genesis did. She knew what Cloud’s childhood had been like. How he had been bullied, and how she had stood by and let it happen. How he had wanted to be her friend so badly, and she had barely paid him any mind. She  _ knew _ he considered her to be his best friend, but that she hadn’t felt the same growing up. 

She would do things right, this time.

“No, they’re—they’re  _ our _ friends, Cloud. They care about you a lot. They’ll really want to see you.”

Cloud looked disbelieving as he sniffled one more time.

“If you say so.”

Genesis watched this exchange like a hawk, not understanding. Cloud had never been willing to talk about Nibelheim. He had insisted that dead things should stay dead. It was not lost on him that Cloud had called them  _ Tifa’s _ friends, and that he hadn’t been very excited at the prospect of seeing them. He couldn’t help but wonder if maybe Cloud’s time in Nibelheim might not have been as great as Genesis had imagined it.

“I’ll call them, okay? I’ll explain what’s going on, and they’ll come visit as soon as they can.”

“I… really have friends? Not just you?”

Tifa painstakingly ignored the way Genesis’s stare was boring into the back of her head.

“Not just me. Come on, why don’t we go get you some breakfast, huh? I bet you’re hungry.”

“Uhm. A bit.”

Tifa took him by the hand and hauled him to standing.

“Let’s get you fed, then.”

Tifa led him by the hand to the kitchen again, where she gently pushed him back into the chair he had been in earlier. Genesis followed, going to get supplies from the refrigerator. He met Tifa at the stove, where she was heating up a pan.

“You and I are going to have a conversation, later, about what you two never told me about Nibelheim,” Genesis whispered to her.

“ _ He _ didn’t want to talk about it, okay?”

“And now he’s gone, and if I am going to be of any help, I need to understand what it is this Cloud remembers.”

Tifa frowned, but took the egg Genesis passed her.

“After he goes to bed tonight.”

“I’m holding you to that.”

He pulled away to look over his shoulder at Cloud, who had pillowed his head on his arms and shut his eyes. The tears must have worn him down.

“On second thought, spill now, while he’s out,” Genesis amended, prompting Tifa to look over her shoulder at the sleeping blond. She sighed and turned back to the pan.

“He was bullied a lot, okay? No one knew who his dad was. His mother turned up pregnant with him, and Cloud always insisted that his dad had died, but people thought his mother made that up for him. It was a small town, and everyone thought she had him out of wedlock. So people held that against him.

“He was always sweet, and warm-hearted, and never came up to anyone with an attitude. But they’d be cruel, and he never knew how to take it lying down, so he’d snap back. Things got violent, a lot. Either everyone was pretending he didn’t exist, or trying to hurt him somehow.”

“But you were friends with him?”

“I… kind of. I was a shitty friend, Genesis. I didn’t want to be treated like he was, so I’d only talk to him if we were alone. I pretended like I didn’t know him if he came up to me around other people. I turned a blind eye when things got violent. I was only really nice to him, just as much as I was, because I felt bad for him. I only really was interested once he started saying he was going to join SOLDIER and leave. And once he  _ did _ go to live his dream, I tried to convince myself that we really were good friends. But I… I can admit when I’ve fucked up. And I fucked up, with him, as a kid.”

There was a long pause, before Genesis said, in a strained voice, “The only reason I won’t lecture you, Tifa Lockhart, is because you already seem guilty.”

Tifa bit her lip as she cracked another egg into the pan.

“I’m going to do right by him, this time. If… if we have to lose our Cloud, and have this one instead, then—then I’m going to make things better.”

Genesis set a hand on her shoulder and said, “You’ll have help, this time. We’ll keep him safe.”

Tifa turned to offer him a shaky smile and said, “Safe and sound.”

Behind them, Cloud snored quietly. He was slumped against the table, entirely relaxed and deeply asleep, in a way that was foreign to both Tifa and Genesis. The man they knew didn’t relax, and slept incredibly light, trained by years of danger. This Cloud trusted them easily, and had no fear that anything would go wrong with them there. 

This time, he didn’t dream at all. 


	2. Chapter 2

Tifa pulled Cloud to a stop right in front of the door. 

“Okay, Cloud, remember. I know you’re nine, but you look almost thirty—well, okay, you still look way too young with that mako baby face, but point is, everyone thinks you’re way older. It’ll take most of them a moment to believe you’re you, and not the Cloud they know. Be patient, okay?”

Cloud huffed. He wasn’t sure what the big deal was. Genesis and Tifa had been confused, but they’d figured it out fast. What could the problem be? 

“I’ll be fine!”

Tifa muttered something that sounded like, “I forgot you were even more stubborn when you were younger,” but he couldn’t quite make it out. She led him into the building, Genesis bringing up the rear with one comforting hand on his shoulder. 

There had been a cacophony in the room, but it quieted down as they walked in. 

There were two kids (kids!) who peered around a man with long black hair to see them. The man turned to look over his shoulder, but his face was unreadable, half hidden as it was in his red cowl. 

“Cloud, this is some of the group; most everyone lives too far to get here so fast, but the kids live with me, and Vincent’s nearby. Reeve will try to stop by, but he’s busy right now.”

Cloud took a nervous step to hide himself behind Tifa. He could watch the man, who was apparently named Vincent, soften his expression just slightly. 

“Hi,” he said, unsure of how to feel. 

He didn’t like how the kids were looking at him. Or rather, how the boy was looking at him. He looked wary, almost mistrustful, and Cloud didn’t think he’d earned that. 

“He’s acting weird,” the boy said. 

“Denzel, we told you what’s going on,” Tifa said gently. 

“Yeah, but, he’s not… Cloud.”

“He is. He’s just different.”

“Well can he still teach me how to fight? Or drive me on Fenrir?”

“Denzel, you know he can’t. He’s younger than you by like four years.  _ You _ need to look out for  _ him _ now.”

“He’s not  _ my  _ Cloud and I don’t want him.”

With that, Denzel stood and marched away from the table and up the stairs, where they heard a door slam. Cloud flinched with the sound. 

“Did I do something wrong?” he muttered to Tifa, still watching where he had seen Denzel disappear. 

“No, Cloud. Other-you was just very important to him, and he’s really feeling the loss. Come say hi to everyone else, okay? He’ll calm down some on his own.”

Cloud looked hesitant, but let Genesis steer him to a table and get him into a seat. Tifa and Genesis sat on either side of him, giving him some space from new faces. He fiddled with the hem of his shirt nervously. 

The girl, who he guessed was the Marlene he’d been told about, leaned forward, looking at him in excitement. She was maybe thirteen or fourteen, like Denzel. 

“You look the same, but you act really different. Are you really nine?”

“Y-yeah?” Cloud said, peeking up at her. He didn’t want to shrink in on himself and go shy, but he always did in groups of people. He had never had good experiences with groups, after all. 

Marlene favored him with a bright smile. 

“I’m not the youngest anymore, then! I’ll get to teach you all kinds of things!”

Tifa and Genesis both blew out quiet sighs of relief. A tentative, hopeful smile formed on Cloud’s face. 

“You’d want to do that?”

“Yeah! Denzel will too, when he stops being bratty, but he thinks he knows soooo much, he’s always acting older than he is! If he gives you a hard time, come tell me, okay?”

Cloud’s smile was small and sweet, and Marlene cooed at him. 

“You’re so cute! Big-you never smiled!”

At this, Cloud huffed, the smile dropping. 

“I’m not cute!”

“You’re soooo cute! Cute as a button!”

“Tifaaaaa,” Cloud whined, looking to her for help. She laughed readily. 

“Marlene, why don’t you go show Cloud some of your old books for a minute? Just until school, okay?”

Marlene hopped out of her chair, chirping, “‘Kay! C’mon, Cloud!” She then went to Cloud’s chair, grabbed his hand, and began dragging him upstairs. 

Genesis, Tifa, and Vincent looked at each other. 

“What do you think, Vincent?” Genesis asked. 

Vincent hummed, turning his eyes to the staircase they had disappeared up. 

“Chaos can taste Gaia’s magic on him. He’s certain she’s had a hand in this.”

“So it’s definitely not natural? Not a trauma response, or some form of age regression, or mako taking his memories?”

“Not at all. This is as he said, his younger soul put into his older body.”

“Did Chaos have anything else to say about him?”

“... You do not want to hear it.”

Genesis raised his eyebrow and said, “Well now I most certainly do.”

Vincent sighed and said, “He says he can taste Cloud’s unspoiled youth, and that it’s sweet. He would like to be the one to spoil that innocence this time. Needless to say, I will not be allowing him anywhere near Cloud.”

Genesis almost didn’t hear that last promise by virtue of the sudden rush of blood in his ears. He was  _ furious _ , on so many grounds. Because that was his  _ boyfriend _ , and no one but him was going to be putting hands on Cloud anytime soon,  _ thank you.  _ But there was also the fact that this Cloud was a  _ child _ , and he was conflicted about the idea of even setting hands on Cloud himself. No one should, even if the body he was in was grown. Right? Maybe? It was a problem for later. What he was certain of in that moment was that he would die before Chaos touched Cloud. 

The wood of the table creaked ominously in his grip, and Tifa shot him a confused look, but Vincent looked at him knowingly. 

“As I said,” he continued, “he will not even speak to Cloud. I… find myself protective of him.”

“I think we all will be,” Tifa said. “He’s our friend, but before he was ever hurt. And he’s been hurt so badly, in our time.”

“It’s more than that. I… once, Lucrecia and I had planned to leave, to raise Sephiroth together away from the labs. I had the chance to be a father to him, and I failed. I do not want to fail Cloud.”

Tifa smiled, reaching across the table to take his metal hand, the only one in reach. 

“I bet Cloud would like that. He’s never had a father before.”

Genesis was both touched by the sentiment and a little disturbed as to where this left him. Cloud was still his boyfriend. Wasn’t he? Was that a talk he was going to have to have with him? If it was, it was going to have to wait until Cloud settled some. He was so unnerved by everything, for good reason, but he would shoot Genesis down out of hand as it was. Should that be what Genesis wanted? Because it wasn’t. He still loved Cloud, and Cloud was still clearly himself, if different. Should he wait until a few years had passed, and Cloud was more mature? Would that be better or worse? 

Genesis rubbed at his jaw, confused, caught between impulses, and a little unnerved by the direction his wants were going. 

It didn’t matter, for now. For now, what Cloud needed was support. Affection. Protection. He could offer those things, regardless of the nature of their relationship. There was plenty of time to figure things out between them. It was more important to get Cloud settled. And keep him  _ away  _ from Chaos. 

While Genesis had this small crisis, Tifa and Vincent continued, though Vincent kept glancing toward Genesis. 

“He didn’t talk about his family. He never knew his father?”

“Not at all. Died before he was born, if his mother didn’t lie to him about that. None of the adults in Nibelheim wanted anything to do that with him, he’s never had a father figure.”

“He deserves that. He ought to be cared for.”

“We’ll all care for him. It won’t just be you.”

“I know that. He’ll have a proper family, this time.”

Tifa smiled softly, propping her chin in her hand. 

“Marlene’s already taken to him. Denzel will warm up fast. They’ll be easy for him to be around, I think. They’re around his age, only a few years off.”

“He’s likely to be lonely regardless. A few years can make a large difference at that age.”

“At least he won’t be alone. We’ll all bother him until he warms up.”

“He’ll come around. He always did, in the end, and I imagine it will be easier for him now.”

“He certainly seems more open like this,” Genesis said, finally paying attention again. 

“Oh, you decided to contribute?” Tifa teased, and Genesis flipped her off without much thought. 

“What I don’t understand,” he continued, “is how this Cloud opens up so easy, if all he understands is being bullied.”

Vincent hummed and said, “Even an abused child is still a child. We all long for care, but children moreso than adults. He’s willing to take the risk because the chance of receiving what he needs is worth the possibility of being mistreated.”

Tifa opened her mouth to answer, but there was the slamming of a door into a wall upstairs. They all looked up to see Marlene dragging Cloud by the hand, their feet thundering. When they came to a stop at the table, Marlene grabbed a book out of Cloud’s hand and slapped it on the table. Cloud had his shoulders curled and a blush on his cheeks. 

“Cloud doesn’t know how to read!” Marlene declared, making Cloud flush darker. 

Genesis gaped, Vincent hummed, and Tifa looked faintly embarrassed. 

“He had to stop school pretty young, Marlene.”

“Why?”

“To help his Mama.”

“Well shouldn’t she have been helping  _ him _ ?”

“It was a different situation, it wasn’t like you and Barret.”

“Can he come with me to school, then?”

“He’s too big—even if I could figure out how to explain this to the school, you know what the kids would say. We’ll teach him.”

“I don’t need to know,” Cloud muttered. “I do okay without it.”

“I will not have my—“  _ don’t stay boyfriend _ “someone I care so deeply for completely illiterate.”

“You can’t start him on LOVELESS, Gen,” Tifa teased, and Genesis scowled at her. 

“ _ I know that _ , thank you. Marlene seems to have children’s books, they’ll work.”

“I really don’t—“ Cloud started. 

“Hush, dear heart. I want to do this for you.”

“If Genesis is ever busy, I would be happy to help,” Vincent offered. Genesis couldn’t help the flare of mistrust, that he couldn’t be sure if Cloud would be safe with him. But he tamped that down—Vincent had good control of his demons, and things would be fine. 

“But—“

“This isn’t Nibelheim, Cloud,” Tifa reminded gently. “We all just want to help.”

Cloud looked down, his eyes welling with tears as he sniffled, wringing his hands together. He was clearly overwhelmed by the gesture, and soon had to dash the tears away. Marlene all but shouted the cooing sound the rest of them wanted to make, throwing her arms around Cloud’s waist. He hiccuped quietly. 

“Get off,” Cloud whined, but made no move to extricate himself. 

Who knew Cloud had been a crybaby as a child?

It was almost hard to believe. He was stoic on a good day as an adult, and even Genesis had only seen him cry once. 

But Tifa remembered this well. She had many memories of Cloud bursting into tears after cruel words from the other kids. Given, it was usually right before he threw something at them, or his fist if there was no nearby projectile. She hadn’t before seen him cry over kindness, but it didn’t feel like a stretch. 

Genesis unlocked from the sight first. He rounded the table and gently pulled Cloud away from Marlene and into his arms. He wrapped one around his shoulders and buried the other in his hair, tucking his face against his chest. Cloud didn’t wail, the way he did yesterday, but he did sniffle, and his hands made loose fists in Genesis’s shirt. 

“It’s just—“  _ hiccup _ “really nice of you,” Cloud muttered, burying his face in Genesis’s chest. 

“I assure you, it’s our pleasure,” Genesis said. 

A fire built in his chest, as Cloud sought comfort in his embrace. It was bright and brilliant and burned so hot, warming his bones. It was protective, and adoring, and sweet. It was also possessive, and greedy, and made him want to pack Cloud up and carry him far away. Genesis swallowed, feeling that fire rage in his throat, and held Cloud closer. 

He wasn’t sure he liked what this Cloud was bringing out in him. 


	3. Chapter 3

Genesis knew perfectly well how to let his mind wander while reading. 

Sometimes it happened on accident. A line would remind him of something, and his thoughts would spin away, and when he came back to himself he’d realize his eyes were a paragraph away from what he remembered. Sometimes he distantly remembered what he had read. Sometimes his thoughts whisked him away unbidden. 

It was simple, really, to continue what he was doing without focusing on it. 

Cloud’s reading lessons were going well, but he liked being read to more. It reminded him of cold winter nights, huddled around a fire with his mother reading fairy tales to him that he already knew by heart. Genesis had bought a book of fairy tales to read him, but it had quickly been discarded when Cloud groused that it told the stories wrong. 

Instead, he found Cloud liked plays, much to Genesis’s delight. He would read all the roles in different voices, and Cloud was enthralled with each new one. He had a taste for romantic plays, which Genesis was not expecting. His own taste was in the tragic, and the Cloud he had known had always insisted they had both lived too much tragedy for such stories. That Cloud had  _ not _ shared his love for romance, but when Genesis considered the deeply thoughtful gestures and gifts that happened on occasion, it made sense to him. 

When asked about his preference, this Cloud had just shrugged and said that he liked how the ending was always happy. 

Genesis had a hard time not wondering if his older self had felt that way. If he’d wanted his own happy ending. If he’d thought he’d had it, before Gaia wrenched him away from his hard-won peace. 

Genesis had made a pointed effort to set that thought aside.

But his mind had been racing since Cloud had woken up younger, and now was no exception. Genesis read from the book, glad they had settled on a (child appropriate) romance novel this time. He could pay less attention when he wasn’t swept up in the acting. 

Cloud was tucked against his side, his head resting on Genesis’s shoulder. His legs were stretched across Genesis’s lap. Genesis rested the book on Cloud’s knees as he read, Cloud’s eyes closed as he listened. 

It was intimately familiar to Genesis. They had sat like this dozens of times, only Genesis would usually have been reading silently, and Cloud would normally have been on his PHS. 

It brought him circling back to what had been plaguing him recently. 

He had to figure out what to do about Cloud. 

Because, as he understood it, his partner was gone. The man he had fallen in love with was beyond his reach, and if he clung to a lingering hope that he might return, he’d never move on. He had no evidence to believe Cloud would come back. It wasn’t fair to either this new Cloud or himself if Genesis remained forever longing for a man out of reach. 

So then, what to do about the boy filling that man’s shoes? Because he was as similar as he was different from the Cloud he had known. He had that same fire, that same tenacity, but also the same warm heart. All that tenderness Cloud usually fought to hide was right there to see now. But there was his naivety to consider, his innocence. The way he trusted and opened his heart so easily; Genesis knew that even the older Cloud trusted easily, but he never admitted it so readily. 

It felt a little like meeting Cloud for the first time. This curiosity, the intrigue. Wanting to learn more, insatiable, wanting to peel back all the layers and learn everything there was to know. But it also felt so deeply familiar. Because, at his core, this was still  _ Cloud _ . Sometimes, things he learned even proved insightful to behaviors of the man he had known. He understood certain tics and quirks now, and the reasons behind them. He was learning Cloud all over again, but in double-time. 

But what to do with that knowledge? He would keep Cloud close, of course. He would care for him in any way he could, obviously. But did he pursue a romantic relationship still? Should he sweep this little Cloud off his feet, like they were in one of his romance plays? It would be so easy. Genesis had romance down to an art; something the older Cloud had quietly appreciated, but not admitted to aloud. Would this Cloud?

Would he be able to get this Cloud to be  _ appropriate _ , if he chose not to pursue him? Because as it was, he seemed to have little concept of modesty. Cloud had mentioned that his childhood home essentially had a single room, with one bathroom to the side. Genesis could extrapolate that he was probably accustomed to a certain level of nudity being casual, as long as precautions were taken. 

Cloud always covered himself with a hand, or had his back turned while changing, but he didn’t seem much inclined to seek privacy when dressing. It was beginning to haunt Genesis. Because he  _ knew _ that body, intimately and in more ways than its current occupant could fathom. Cloud was painfully tempting, and he had no idea he was even doing it. 

It wasn’t Genesis’s  _ fault.  _ Cloud was there, naked, often, and Genesis couldn’t always tear his eyes away. His brain might know better, but his gut said that was his boyfriend, and his dick heartily agreed. No matter what age Cloud was in his mind, his body remained unchanged, and incredibly attractive. 

If he didn’t decide to pursue Cloud, a conversation would need to be had about his brazen tendencies. As it was, with Genesis undecided, he avoided the conversation, and thus kept looking, winding himself tighter with each stolen glance. It was putting him on a timer to figure out what the hell to do. 

Because he needed consent, but could Cloud really give it? He had idolized Genesis (perhaps not as much as Sephiroth, but still), though that hero worship was fading with time. That put an added power differential to their age gap. Their truly  _ monstrous  _ age gap. He and Cloud had already been a decade apart. He had been painstakingly avoiding doing the math to see how far apart they were now. 

But a decision had to be made. He needed to break it down logically. On the one hand, there were Genesis’s feelings, his attraction, his romantic inclination. On the other, there was morality. 

A distant part of him, that sounded remarkably like Angeal’s voice, crowed about honor. About how this was immoral, and wrong, and how Cloud was a  _ child _ !

But, when things were laid out that starkly, it was simple. He had never been one to let morality restrain him. Given, that usually came out on the battlefield, but still. Morality was not his strong point. That had been Angeal’s, and why they balanced one another so well. 

But Angeal wasn’t here, and Cloud was. And, Gaia dammit, Cloud was his  _ boyfriend.  _ He loved Cloud no matter the age. He was still  _ him _ . He was not pining after strange children. He was longing for his lover, who may have been de-aged, but remained himself. If Gaia had such a problem with their relationship, well, she could give him  _ his _ Cloud back, and solve the matter. If the Goddess wasn’t protesting, who cared? She brought him here, right into Genesis’s arms, knowing he’d be waiting. 

Maybe it wasn’t honorable, but it was what he wanted, and as far as he could tell, he had the Goddess’s blessing. 

Fuck honor. 

“Cloud?” Genesis said, abruptly breaking off from the story he was reading mindlessly. He had no idea what he had even been saying, what the plot was, or even the current setting. 

“Yeah?” Cloud said, clearly half-asleep. 

“May I kiss you?”

It was a small step. Just testing the waters, to see how Cloud would react. A way for him to gauge his next step. He would romance Cloud properly, well and truly sweep him off his feet, but, well, a precursor couldn’t hurt. Just a hint of what was to come, for both of them. 

Cloud blinked, then sat up some, saying, “Oh! Sure.” He then turned and offered Genesis his cheek. 

It took Genesis a second to put together what was happening. Clearly, he’d somehow been lumped in with Claudia in Cloud’s head. Suddenly, his willingness to change in front of him, to sleep in his bed made so much more sense. He understood that he had been in a caretaking role with Cloud, but he hadn’t realized he had somehow become a  _ mother _ figure to him. 

Well. He would just have to teach Cloud that he could be more than that. 

He turned Cloud’s face with a gentle touch to the cheek facing away from him. Cloud faced him with simple, open curiosity on his face. Genesis leaned in slowly, wondering what Cloud would do. He watched his brow furrow, his breath catch as he clearly wondered what Genesis was doing, but didn’t move away. 

But then that was all swept away. Genesis pressed their mouths together, and it was as simple as it was perfect. It felt like coming home after hours out in icy pouring rain. Goddess, he had missed this. He tilted his head, ready to deepen the kiss, when he remembered, sharply, who this was. That, no matter how familiar that mouth was, it was not his lover behind it. 

Genesis leaned away, sighing softly. He felt a flicker of disappointment and a longing for his partner, but that was easily swept away when he saw Cloud’s face. His face was soft with naive confusion. He then felt a thrill zip through him, that  _ he _ would get to be the one to teach Cloud about these things. 

That he had just stolen Cloud’s first kiss. 

Part of him was frustrated upon that realization. 

First kisses should come with  _ romance _ and much pomp and circumstance. It should be a grand gesture. But there was something to be said for this, too. For it to happen when they were safe and soft together, quietly enjoying each other’s company, curled up and tender. 

He thought that this would be the kind of first kiss that  _ his _ Cloud would have wanted. 

Genesis smiled then, a soft little thing that curled across his mouth, his fingers trailing down Cloud’s cheek. His eyes roved his face, taking in his wide eyes blinking in wonder. 

“You kissed me.”

“I did.”

“That wasn’t the kind of kiss my mama gives me, was it?”

“Mm, no, it was not.”

“What kind of kiss was it?”

“How about we play a game? I’ll give you hints from now on, and you can guess what kind of kiss it was.”

“Can I have the hints now?”

Genesis laughed. Cloud was certainly more upfront with what he wanted like this. 

“No. You’ll get one a day.”

“What’s today’s?”

“The kiss was today’s.”

“Aw,” Cloud huffed in disappointment. 

“Why don’t we go make dinner, then? Since you already wasted your one guess for today.”

“What! You didn’t say I only get one  _ guess _ a day! And I didn’t even guess!”

“You did; you guessed it was a motherly kiss, and you were wrong.”

Cloud grumbled something under his breath but did get up off the couch. 

Genesis, with his mind now thoroughly made up, did not feel the urge to keep his eyes away from Cloud’s ass as he stood, the way he had since the change. Instead, he stared blatantly, until Cloud turned to look at him in question. 

Genesis grinned then, and got to his feet. He was going to woo Cloud, well and truly. 

The boy would never know what hit him. 


	4. Chapter 4

Genesis was doing something he did very well, and had much practice with: he was strategizing.

Because he understood traditional romantic gestures. Sure, he could bring Cloud out to dinner and a movie, dress them both up, touch him just the right amount of times, say just the right honeyed words. And Cloud had always appreciated that—to a point. They went on a handful of grand dates each year, because Genesis clearly liked the fanfare of it all, and because Cloud liked the romantic gesture behind it. 

But Cloud preferred their date nights to be private. When  _ Cloud _ chose to be romantic, it was always in the house. It was expensive ingredients that Cloud would not admit the price of prepared expertly (following Tifa’s instructions). It was a single small candle, one of Aerith’s flowers in the vase Cloud had specifically for this purpose, and dimmed lights. It was a new edition of Loveless that Genesis didn’t even know was out, tucked under his pillow where he wouldn’t find it until he went to sleep and slid his arms underneath to be comfortable. 

So Genesis would play by Cloud’s rules. There was no sense, when he had tactically relevant information, to just ignore it. He knew Cloud’s idea of romance. He understood that this Cloud might have a slightly different idea, that the Cloud he had known was shaped by his experiences, but he was confident the core of it all remained the same. 

Genesis decided to start small. They were still playing their game, after all. Cloud was to guess what that kiss meant. When he finally figured it out, Genesis would pull out all the stops and romance him fully. He didn’t want to tip his hand too early. And this sort of protracted chase would only make it more satisfying in the end. 

He decided to take his next step for the day. He had promised Cloud one hint and one guess per day. 

“Cloud?” Genesis called from where he was at the stove, cooking breakfast. Cloud was at the table, looking frustrated when Genesis glanced over at him. He was working with one of the children’s books they had gotten him. 

“Yeah?” he called, without looking up.

“Would you like a break from that?”

“ _ Yes _ ,” Cloud said, setting the book down and looking up at Genesis at last. Genesis nodded his head toward the stove.

“Would you like to learn how to cook, instead?”

“Oh,” Cloud said. “Sure.” He climbed out of his chair and came to stand awkwardly at Genesis’s side. “Mama never let me use the flame before. She let me help with doughs when she was baking, though.”

“This will be a little different, and I will be here to make sure you don’t burn yourself,” Genesis said, handing the wooden spoon to Cloud, who took it hesitantly. 

Genesis took Cloud by the hips and arranged him in front of the stove before standing behind him. He took Cloud’s hands, wrapping the left around the handle of the pan and guiding the right to stir the scrambled eggs. 

He didn’t  _ have _ to press as close to Cloud’s back as he did. Because he was pressed flush against his back, his cheek against Cloud’s hair. It felt so  _ right _ to have him close like this, caged against him, warm and familiar. Good Goddess, he had missed this. The smell of Cloud’s shampoo, the feel of his body heat against his front. This could have nearly been any other morning for them. 

But the newness was as good as the familiarity. The way Genesis had to guide Cloud’s hands, and teach him what to do. The way Cloud only slowly, slowly, but very surely did relax back against Genesis, instead of doing so immediately. The look of adorable concentration on his face as he tried his hardest to do what he was told. 

“You’re doing well, Cloud,” Genesis said, not fighting the purr that came to his tone. He knew how much Cloud liked praise, and that tone of voice. He could feel Cloud’s breath hitch, before he huffed, his expression confused. Clearly not understanding his own reaction. “I’m going to let go now, alright? Just continue what you’re doing.”

“Okay,” Cloud answered, distracted by the focus he had on the pan. 

Genesis let his arms fall away, and Cloud continued easily without him. The body had muscle memory of this, after all, even if his mind didn’t recall. Genesis let his arms come around Cloud’s waist, pulling him flush to his own chest. He let his temple rest against Cloud’s hair, soaking in the simple moment. 

This felt right—this felt like  _ Cloud’s _ kind of intimacy. It wasn’t the grand, romantic gestures, no. It was the small, casual romantic gestures that Cloud favored most days. It was interweaving their relationship into calm moments, making the average extraordinary. 

And if Genesis let one hand wander, just barely sliding his fingertips beneath Cloud’s shirt, what was the harm? Cloud seemed fine with it. He pressed his palm to Cloud’s stomach, warm and familiar, and sighed as Cloud’s breath hitched again. 

“What are you doing?” Cloud finally asked, glancing back at Genesis as best he could. 

Genesis didn’t withdraw, didn’t back down. He nuzzled Cloud’s hair and sighed, stroking his thumb over Cloud’s skin beneath his shirt.

“Giving you your hint for the day.”

The eggs were clearly done by this point, but Genesis didn’t want to move. They could be a little over-cooked.

“I don’t… I don’t get it.”

Genesis smiled faintly. He suspected Cloud might be starting too, but he also gathered, from what Tifa had told him, that this Cloud wouldn’t guess it immediately. He had never seen romantic gestures between parents, with his single mother. He had never been kissed, had no friends, no one to explore these things with. It was new territory. It was going to take more than a few gestures for it to sink in, even if he was starting to get the picture from all his romance stories. 

“Take your guess.”

He felt the way Cloud went still in his arms, thinking.

“A friend kiss?”

Genesis hummed, but took that as his cue to finally pull away. He reached over Cloud’s arm to flick off the burner.

“Not quite,” Genesis said, slowly pulling his hand out from Cloud’s shirt, dragging his fingers over the skin. He took the spoon from his hands. 

“Give me another hint?”

Genesis laughed, stepping away fully to come around Cloud and take the pan from him.

“Don’t be greedy. You’ll get another tomorrow.”

Cloud huffed, but simply watched as Genesis used the spoon to portion the eggs onto the plates waiting for them. He then dropped the spoon onto a ceramic rest and handed Cloud his plate, corralling him to the table to eat. 

The rest of their day was simple. Tifa and Vincent were coming over that afternoon. Tifa and Cloud spent a bit of time together before he asked for help reading, which was when Tifa passed him off to Vincent, who had promised to help teach him. Tifa went to go talk with Genesis in the other room, Vincent settling in on the couch with Cloud, helping him sound out words and praising him.

Vincent didn’t realize how close Cloud had squirmed next to him until their sides were pressed together, and Chaos would not be quiet about it. His mind was full of lewd images he couldn’t tune out, courtesy of Chaos. The demon usually drew more from Vincent’s senses than he did himself, and Chaos was intent on sharing the fine nuances of Cloud’s scent with him. His trust, his youth, his innocence, his naivety—it was so,  _ so _ sweet. It was  _ heady _ , especially with Cloud pressed so close to him. It wasn’t long before Vincent was more focused on that scent than anything else.

It was just the edge Chaos needed. He didn’t need Vincent weak, no, just  _ distracted _ . He wasn’t trying to completely take the body, just—borrow it, for a moment. He didn’t need a transformation, and truly, that would go counter to his goals. His full form would scare the child, but he was unlikely to care much if the body’s eyes went gold. 

“Cloud,” Chaos said, using Vincent’s mouth to speak, the word a soft croon. 

“Yeah?” he said, looking up. 

Chaos hooked a finger beneath his chin, lifting it. He stroked a thumb over his plump bottom lip.

“You have the  _ prettiest _ mouth,” Chaos all but sang to him. He watched Cloud’s face twist in displeasure, and he tried to turn away, but Chaos held his chin fast.

“‘Pretty’ isn’t a nice word to call a boy.”

“Oh, but I mean it as a  _ compliment _ .”

“You… do?”

“Oh yes. You’re the prettiest little thing I’ve ever seen. Absolutely  _ delicious _ .”

Cloud’s nose wrinkled as he said, “‘Delicious’ is a  _ weird _ thing to call someone.”

“Mmm, I disagree. I’m sure your taste would be  _ exquisite _ . The sweetness inside your mouth. The taste of your cum in  _ my _ mouth. Tell me, have you ever had an orgasm?”

“I… don’t know what that word means? You’re saying a lot of weird stuff.”

“That first orgasm would be  _ divine _ to taste. Genesis would be amazingly jealous if I got to it first.”

“Genesis knows what that means?”

Chaos laughed, the sound soft and curling.

“Genesis thinks of your orgasm more often than he’d like to admit.”

Cloud frowned and leaned away, saying, “Maybe I’ll just ask him about it later.”

With the slight distance from Cloud, the scent in Vincent’s nose cleared, and he was able to wrangle Chaos back down. Chaos went, laughing the whole time, knowing Vincent knew damn well what had been said. Vincent cleared his throat, his eyes turning red again. He yanked his hand away from Cloud’s chin.

“Perhaps do  _ not _ mention this to Genesis.”

“That you’re real weird when your eyes are yellow?”

“That. Or anything I said while my eyes were like that. This will be our secret, yes?”

Cloud paused, looking unsure for a long moment. But then he shrugged.

“Sure. Can we keep going with the book now?”

Vincent breathed a sigh of relief.

“Yes, of course. Where were we?”

Vincent carefully scooted a few inches away from Cloud. He would not make the same mistake twice. He had promised to keep a lid on Chaos, and while no real harm had been done, it was not anything Vincent had wanted to happen. Cloud didn’t need words like that floating around in his head.

But Cloud couldn’t quite forget what he had heard. The words swirled around in the back of his head as he tried to read. They haunted him as Vincent and Tifa said their goodbyes. He couldn’t even forget them as he sat at the kitchen table while Genesis cooked their dinner.

So, he thought he could ask. Maybe just not mention where he had heard the words.

“Hey, Genesis?”

“Yes, dear heart?”

“What does ‘orgasm’ mean?”

He looked up in time to see Genesis’s whole body go stiff. He carefully flicked off the burner, set the wooden spoon to one side, and came to sit at the table with Cloud.

“Where did you hear that word?”

“A, uhhhhh… a friend.”

“A ‘friend,’” Genesis said, deadpan. He knew Cloud had no real friends in Nibelheim at that age. Tifa could barely be counted. The friends he had here were limited, and there was really only one person that would use such a word in front of Cloud. “A friend with long black hair in desperate need of deep conditioning and eyes that occasionally go gold?”

Cloud shrank in his chair. He hadn’t meant to break his promise. Technically he didn’t. He didn’t say who had told him. Genesis had just guessed.

Genesis sighed, the gesture and guilty look on his face speaking loud enough.

“Don’t worry about orgasms, Cloud, that’s a problem for another day.”

“Can I just know what the word means?”

“One day, I’ll teach you all about it. Just not right now, alright?”

Cloud huffed but said, “‘Kay.”

Genesis sighed, looking at Cloud in exasperated fondness. He stood and kissed Cloud’s hair on his way back to the stove.

He was distracted the whole time, however. Part of him was burning with anger, that Vincent had slipped. He knew it was unintentional, that he would never willingly allow Chaos that close to Cloud, but it had happened regardless of his intent. Who knew what else Chaos had said to Cloud—he couldn’t ask without Cloud growing more curious about the conversation. Genesis didn’t know how to answer, or how much he wanted to explain.

Because the other part of him couldn’t stop thinking that Cloud  _ knew _ now. Not much, no, just the word, but it was something. A seed had been planted in Cloud’s head. Who knew if Chaos would get another chance to finish explaining, if he would water that seed and let it sprout. 

That was unacceptable. Because if Cloud didn’t know what orgasms were, if he had yet to experience one, then  _ Genesis _ was going to give him his first. This was non-negotiable. He didn’t think Chaos would get the opportunity to get Cloud off, no, Vincent’s horror would give him the strength to step in before it got that far. But, if Cloud found out the details, he might be curious, and find out for himself.

No, Genesis had to teach him, and soon. Before the opportunity flew by him entirely. 


End file.
